learnxinyminutes-docs/zfs.md

---
category: tool
name: ZFS
contributors:
    - ["sarlalian", "http://github.com/sarlalian"]
    - ["81reap", "https://github.com/81reap"]
    - ["A1EF", "https://github.com/A1EF"]
filename: LearnZfs.txt
---

[ZFS](http://open-zfs.org/wiki/Main_Page)
is a rethinking of the storage stack, combining traditional file systems as well as volume
managers into one cohesive tool.  ZFS has some specific terminology that sets it apart from
more traditional storage systems, however it has a great set of features with a focus on
usability for systems administrators.

## ZFS Concepts

### Virtual Devices

A VDEV (Virtual Device) in ZFS is analogous to a RAID device and similarly offers different
benefits in terms of redundancy and performance. In general VDEV's offer better reliability
and safety than a RAID card. It is discouraged to use a RAID setup with ZFS, as ZFS expects
to directly manage the underlying disks.

| VDEV Type | Similar RAID | Notes |
|-----------|----------------|---------------------------------------|
| Mirror | RAID 1 | Supports n-way mirroring for redundancy. |
| raidz1 | RAID 5 | Single disk parity, offering fault tolerance of one disk failure. |
| raidz2 | RAID 6 | Two-disk parity, can tolerate two disk failures. |
| raidz3 | - | Three-disk parity, can tolerate three disk failures. |
| Disk | - | Represents a single physical disk in a VDEV. |
| File | - | File-based VDEV, not recommended for production as it adds complexity and reduces reliability. |

Data in a ZFS storage pool is striped across all VDEVs. Adding more VDEVs, Logs, or Caches
can increase IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second), enhancing performance. It's crucial
to balance VDEVs for optimal performance and redundancy.

### Storage Pools

ZFS uses Storage Pools as an abstraction over the lower level storage provider (VDEV), allow
you to separate the user visible file system from the physical layout.

### ZFS Dataset

ZFS datasets are analogous to traditional filesystems but with many more features.  They
provide many of ZFS's advantages.  Datasets support [Copy on Write](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copy-on-write)
snapshots, quota's, compression and de-duplication.

### Limits

One directory may contain up to 2^48 files, up to 16 exabytes each.  A single storage pool
can contain up to 256 zettabytes (2^78) of space, and can be striped across 2^64 devices.  A
single host can have 2^64 storage pools.  The limits are huge.

## Commands

### Storage Pools

Actions:

* List
* Status
* Destroy
* Get/Set properties

List zpools

```bash
# Create a raidz zpool
$ zpool create zroot raidz1 gpt/zfs0 gpt/zfs1 gpt/zfs2

# List ZPools
$ zpool list
NAME    SIZE  ALLOC   FREE  EXPANDSZ   FRAG    CAP  DEDUP  HEALTH  ALTROOT
zroot   141G   106G  35.2G         -    43%    75%  1.00x  ONLINE  -

# List detailed information about a specific zpool
$ zpool list -v zroot
NAME                                     SIZE  ALLOC   FREE  EXPANDSZ   FRAG    CAP  DEDUP HEALTH  ALTROOT
zroot                                    141G   106G  35.2G         -    43%    75%  1.00x ONLINE  -
  gptid/c92a5ccf-a5bb-11e4-a77d-001b2172c655   141G   106G  35.2G         -    43%    75%
```

Status of zpools

```bash
# Get status information about zpools
$ zpool status
  pool: zroot
 state: ONLINE
  scan: scrub repaired 0 in 2h51m with 0 errors on Thu Oct  1 07:08:31 2015
config:

        NAME                                          STATE     READ WRITE CKSUM
        zroot                                         ONLINE       0     0     0
          gptid/c92a5ccf-a5bb-11e4-a77d-001b2172c655  ONLINE       0     0     0

errors: No known data errors

# Scrubbing a zpool to correct any errors
$ zpool scrub zroot
$ zpool status -v zroot
  pool: zroot
 state: ONLINE
  scan: scrub in progress since Thu Oct 15 16:59:14 2015
        39.1M scanned out of 106G at 1.45M/s, 20h47m to go
        0 repaired, 0.04% done
config:

        NAME                                          STATE     READ WRITE CKSUM
        zroot                                         ONLINE       0     0     0
          gptid/c92a5ccf-a5bb-11e4-a77d-001b2172c655  ONLINE       0     0     0

errors: No known data errors
```

Properties of zpools

```bash
# Getting properties from the pool properties can be user set or system provided.
$ zpool get all zroot
NAME   PROPERTY                       VALUE                          SOURCE
zroot  size                           141G                           -
zroot  capacity                       75%                            -
zroot  altroot                        -                              default
zroot  health                         ONLINE                         -
...

# Setting a zpool property
$ zpool set comment="Storage of mah stuff" zroot
$ zpool get comment
NAME   PROPERTY  VALUE                 SOURCE
tank   comment   -                     default
zroot  comment   Storage of mah stuff  local
```

Remove zpool

```bash
$ zpool destroy test
```

### Datasets

Actions:

* Create
* List
* Rename
* Delete
* Get/Set properties

Create datasets

```bash
# Create dataset
$ zfs create zroot/root/data
$ mount | grep data
zroot/root/data on /data (zfs, local, nfsv4acls)

# Create child dataset
$ zfs create zroot/root/data/stuff
$ mount | grep data
zroot/root/data on /data (zfs, local, nfsv4acls)
zroot/root/data/stuff on /data/stuff (zfs, local, nfsv4acls)


# Create Volume
$ zfs create -V zroot/win_vm
$ zfs list zroot/win_vm
NAME                 USED  AVAIL  REFER  MOUNTPOINT
zroot/win_vm         4.13G  17.9G    64K  -
```

List datasets

```bash
# List all datasets
$ zfs list
NAME                                                                       USED  AVAIL  REFER  MOUNTPOINT
zroot                                                                      106G  30.8G   144K  none
zroot/ROOT                                                                18.5G  30.8G   144K  none
zroot/ROOT/10.1                                                              8K  30.8G  9.63G  /
zroot/ROOT/default                                                        18.5G  30.8G  11.2G  /
zroot/backup                                                              5.23G  30.8G   144K  none
zroot/home                                                                 288K  30.8G   144K  none
...

# List a specific dataset
$ zfs list zroot/home
NAME         USED  AVAIL  REFER  MOUNTPOINT
zroot/home   288K  30.8G   144K  none

# List snapshots
$ zfs list -t snapshot
zroot@daily-2015-10-15                                                                  0      -   144K  -
zroot/ROOT@daily-2015-10-15                                                             0      -   144K  -
zroot/ROOT/default@daily-2015-10-15                                                     0      -  24.2G  -
zroot/tmp@daily-2015-10-15                                                           124K      -   708M  -
zroot/usr@daily-2015-10-15                                                              0      -   144K  -
zroot/home@daily-2015-10-15                                                             0      -  11.9G  -
zroot/var@daily-2015-10-15                                                           704K      -  1.42G  -
zroot/var/log@daily-2015-10-15                                                       192K      -   828K  -
zroot/var/tmp@daily-2015-10-15                                                          0      -   152K  -
```

Rename datasets

```bash
$ zfs rename zroot/root/home zroot/root/old_home
$ zfs rename zroot/root/new_home zroot/root/home
```

Delete dataset

```bash
# Datasets cannot be deleted if they have any snapshots
$ zfs destroy zroot/root/home
```

Get / set properties of a dataset

```bash
# Get all properties
$ zfs get all zroot/usr/home
NAME            PROPERTY              VALUE                  SOURCE
zroot/home      type                  filesystem             -
zroot/home      creation              Mon Oct 20 14:44 2014  -
zroot/home      used                  11.9G                  -
zroot/home      available             94.1G                  -
zroot/home      referenced            11.9G                  -
zroot/home      mounted               yes                    -
...

# Get property from dataset
$ zfs get compression zroot/usr/home
NAME            PROPERTY     VALUE     SOURCE
zroot/home      compression  off       default

# Set property on dataset
$ zfs set compression=lz4 zroot/lamb

# Get a set of properties from all datasets
$ zfs list -o name,quota,reservation
NAME                                                               QUOTA  RESERV
zroot                                                               none    none
zroot/ROOT                                                          none    none
zroot/ROOT/default                                                  none    none
zroot/tmp                                                           none    none
zroot/usr                                                           none    none
zroot/home                                                          none    none
zroot/var                                                           none    none
...
```

### Write Log Pool

The ZFS Intent Log (ZIL) is a write log designed to speed up synchronous writes. This is
typically a faster drive or drive partition than the larger storage pools.

```bash
# Add a log pool
$ zpool add mypool/lamb log /dev/sdX

# Check the configuration
$ zpool status mypool/lamb
```

### Read Cache Pool

The Level 2 Adaptive Replacement Cache (L2ARC) extends the primary ARC (in-RAM cache) and is
used for read caching. This is typically a faster drive or drive partition than the larger
storage pools.

```bash
# Add a cache pool
$ zpool add mypool/lamb cache /dev/sdY

# Check the configuration
$ zpool status mypool/lamb
```

### Data Compression

Data compression reduces the amount of space data occupies on disk in exchange for some extra
CPU usage. When enabled, it can enhance performance by reducing the amount of disk I/O. It
especially beneficial on systems with more CPU resources than disk bandwidth.

```bash
# Get compression options
$ zfs get -help
...
compression     NO       YES   on | off | lzjb | gzip | gzip-[1-9] | zle | lz4 | zstd | zstd-[1-19] | zstd-fast | zstd-fast-[1-10,20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90,100,500,1000]
...

# Set compression
$ zfs set compression=on mypool/lamb

# Check the configuration
$ zpool get compression mypool/lamb
```

### Encryption at Rest

Encryption allows data to be encrypted on the device at the cost of extra CPU cycles. This
property can only be set when a dataset is being created.

```bash
# Enable encryption on the pool
$ zpool set feature@encryption=enabled black_hole

# Create an encrypted dataset with a prompt
$ zfs create -o encryption=on -o keyformat=passphrase black_hole/enc

# Check the configuration
$ zfs get encryption black_hole/enc
```

It should be noted that there are parts of the system where the data is not encrypted. See
the table below for a breakdown.

| Component | Encrypted | Notes |
|----------------------|-------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|
| Main Data Storage | Yes | Data in datasets/volumes is encrypted. |
| ZFS Intent Log (ZIL) | Yes | Synchronous write requests are encrypted. |
| L2ARC (Cache) | Yes | Cached data is stored in an encrypted form. |
| RAM (ARC) | No | Data in the primary ARC, in RAM, is not encrypted. |
| Swap Area | Conditional | Encrypted if the ZFS swap dataset is encrypted. |
| ZFS Metadata | Yes | Metadata is encrypted for encrypted datasets. |
| Snapshot Data | Yes | Snapshots of encrypted datasets are also encrypted. |
| ZFS Send/Receive | Conditional | Encrypted during send/receive if datasets are encrypted and `-w` flag is used. |

### Snapshots

ZFS snapshots are one of the things about zfs that are a really big deal

* The space they take up is equal to the difference in data between the filesystem and its snapshot
* Creation time is only seconds
* Recovery is as fast as you can write data.
* They are easy to automate.

Actions:

* Create
* Delete
* Rename
* Access snapshots
* Send / Receive
* Clone

Create snapshots

```bash
# Create a snapshot of a single dataset
zfs snapshot zroot/home/sarlalian@now

# Create a snapshot of a dataset and its children
$ zfs snapshot -r zroot/home@now
$ zfs list -t snapshot
NAME                       USED  AVAIL  REFER  MOUNTPOINT
zroot/home@now                 0      -    26K  -
zroot/home/sarlalian@now       0      -   259M  -
zroot/home/alice@now           0      -   156M  -
zroot/home/bob@now             0      -   156M  -
...
```

Destroy snapshots

```bash
# How to destroy a snapshot
$ zfs destroy zroot/home/sarlalian@now

# Delete a snapshot on a parent dataset and its children
$ zfs destroy -r zroot/home/sarlalian@now
```

Renaming Snapshots

```bash
# Rename a snapshot
$ zfs rename zroot/home/sarlalian@now zroot/home/sarlalian@today
$ zfs rename zroot/home/sarlalian@now today

$ zfs rename -r zroot/home@now @yesterday
```

Accessing snapshots

```bash
# CD into a snapshot directory
$ cd /home/.zfs/snapshot/
```

Sending and Receiving

```bash
# Backup a snapshot to a file
$ zfs send zroot/home/sarlalian@now | gzip > backup_file.gz

# Send a snapshot to another dataset
$ zfs send zroot/home/sarlalian@now | zfs recv backups/home/sarlalian

# Send a snapshot to a remote host
$ zfs send zroot/home/sarlalian@now | ssh root@backup_server 'zfs recv zroot/home/sarlalian'

# Send full dataset with snapshots to new host
$ zfs send -v -R zroot/home@now | ssh root@backup_server 'zfs recv zroot/home'
```

Cloning Snapshots

```bash
# Clone a snapshot
$ zfs clone zroot/home/sarlalian@now zroot/home/sarlalian_new

# Promoting the clone so it is no longer dependent on the snapshot
$ zfs promote zroot/home/sarlalian_new
```

### Putting it all together

This following a script utilizing FreeBSD, jails and ZFS to automate
provisioning a clean copy of a MySQL staging database from a live replication
slave.

```bash
#!/bin/sh

echo "==== Stopping the staging database server ===="
jail -r staging

echo "==== Cleaning up existing staging server and snapshot ===="
zfs destroy -r zroot/jails/staging
zfs destroy zroot/jails/slave@staging

echo "==== Quiescing the slave database ===="
echo "FLUSH TABLES WITH READ LOCK;" | /usr/local/bin/mysql -u root -pmyrootpassword -h slave

echo "==== Snapshotting the slave db filesystem as zroot/jails/slave@staging ===="
zfs snapshot zroot/jails/slave@staging

echo "==== Starting the slave database server ===="
jail -c slave

echo "==== Cloning the slave snapshot to the staging server ===="
zfs clone zroot/jails/slave@staging zroot/jails/staging

echo "==== Installing the staging mysql config ===="
mv /jails/staging/usr/local/etc/my.cnf /jails/staging/usr/local/etc/my.cnf.slave
cp /jails/staging/usr/local/etc/my.cnf.staging /jails/staging/usr/local/etc/my.cnf

echo "==== Setting up the staging rc.conf file ===="
mv /jails/staging/etc/rc.conf.local /jails/staging/etc/rc.conf.slave
mv /jails/staging/etc/rc.conf.staging /jails/staging/etc/rc.conf.local

echo "==== Starting the staging db server ===="
jail -c staging

echo "==== Makes the staging database not pull from the master ===="
echo "STOP SLAVE;" | /usr/local/bin/mysql -u root -pmyrootpassword -h staging
echo "RESET SLAVE;" | /usr/local/bin/mysql -u root -pmyrootpassword -h staging
```

### Additional Reading

* [BSDNow's Crash Course on ZFS](http://www.bsdnow.tv/tutorials/zfs)
* [FreeBSD Handbook on ZFS](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/zfs.html)
* [BSDNow's Crash Course on ZFS](http://www.bsdnow.tv/tutorials/zfs)
* [Oracle's Tuning Guide](http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/articles/servers-storage-admin/sto-recommended-zfs-settings-1951715.html)
* [OpenZFS Tuning Guide](http://open-zfs.org/wiki/Performance_tuning)
* [FreeBSD ZFS Tuning Guide](https://wiki.freebsd.org/ZFSTuningGuide)